When contact was becoming more prevalent in the
1980s, some practitioners suggested that children
would become confused about who their real parents
were, causing problems with self-esteem and identity
that might lead to psychological adjustment problems
(Kraft et al., 1985). The second hypothesis
focuses on the openness with which adoption and
contact are discussed within the adoptive family, or
adoption communicative openness. Brodzinsky
(2005, 2006) suggested that even when contact is
impossible, adoptive parents’ openness in communicating
with their child about their adoption would
make significant contributions to child and adolescent
well-being. A third hypothesis focuses on
adoptive family members’ interpretations of their
contact situation and their satisfaction with it rather
than on the actual levels of contact or communication,
emphasizing how adoptees make meaning of
their contact, and how this interpretive process
affects well-being and adjustment. According to this
hypothesis, good psychological adjustment of the
adoptee occurs when adoptive family members are
satisfied with the contact they have, regardless of the
particulars of their situation.